⁷ He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a ^(A)shield to those who walk in integrity,
⁸ Guarding the paths of justice,
And He ^(B)preserves the way of His godly ones.
⁹ Then you will discern ^(C)righteousness and justice
And equity and every ^(D)good course.
¹⁰ For ^(E)wisdom will enter your heart
And ^(F)knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
¹¹ Discretion will ^(G)guard you,
Understanding will watch over you,
¹² To ^(H)deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks ^(I)perverse things;
¹³ From those who ^(J)leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ^(K)ways of darkness;
¹⁴ Who ^(L)delight in doing evil
And rejoice in the perversity of evil;
¹⁵ Whose paths are ^(M)crooked,
And who are devious in their ways;
¹⁶ To ^(N)deliver you from the strange woman,
From the ^[a](O)adulteress who flatters with her words;
¹⁷ That leaves the ^(P)companion of her youth
And forgets the ^(Q)covenant of her God;
¹⁸ For ^(R)her house ^[b]sinks down to death
And her tracks lead to the ^[c]dead;
¹⁹ None ^(S)who go to her return again,
Nor do they reach the ^(T)paths of life.
²⁰ So you will ^(U)walk in the way of good men
And keep to the ^(V)paths of the righteous.
²¹ For ^(W)the upright will ^[d]live in the land
And ^(X)the blameless will remain in it;
²² But ^(Y)the wicked will be cut off from the land
And ^(Z)the treacherous will be ^(AA)uprooted from it.

7 My son, ^(A)keep my words
And treasure my commandments within you.
^2 (B)Keep my commandments and live,
And my ^[a]teaching ^(C)as the ^[b]apple of your eye.
^3 (D)Bind them on your fingers;
^(E)Write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴ Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call understanding your intimate friend;
⁵ That they may keep you from an ^[c]adulteress,
From the foreigner who ^[d]flatters with her words.

¹⁹ When there are ^(A)many words, transgression is unavoidable,
But ^(B)he who restrains his lips is wise.

³ In the mouth of the foolish is a rod ^[a]for his back,
But ^(A)the lips of the wise will protect them.

¹⁰ The ^(A)name of the Lord is a ^(B)strong tower;
The righteous runs into it and ^(C)is ^[a]safe.

²³ He who ^(A)guards his mouth and his tongue,
Guards his soul from troubles.

^5 (A)Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
He who guards himself will be far from them.